School 'labelled me as special needs', says chef Jamie Oliver who suffers from dyslexia

 
School criticism: Chef Jamie Oliver
Chef Jamie Oliver as most of the poorest families in Britain do not know how to feed themselves properly and choose expensive rather than cheap options, according to the TV chef. Oliver who has an estimated fortune of £150 million, said that he finds it
2 January 2014

Jamie Oliver has criticised his schooling - saying he was labelled as “special needs” and teased for being taken out of class for extra help.

The TV chef, who is dyslexic, went to school with farmer and presenter Jimmy Doherty and said they were both selected for the special needs stream at their comprehensive Newport Free Grammar School in Newport, Essex.

Speaking on the set of their new show, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, Oliver said: “While we were at school, I struggled. Imagine a boys’ school. Thirty boys in the middle of English, bang bang bang on the door, ‘Can we have Jimmy and Jamie for special needs? Just us two out of our class.”

He added that the other children in the class would sing “Special Needs” to the tune of “Let it Be” when they were called out.

Oliver, who grew up in Clavering and is now worth around £150 million, said he favoured the “hippy approach” of a school in Los Angeles that his children attended for three months, which taught them using the subjects they love. His daughter Poppy was taught through songwriting. He added: “I think traditional education has got a lot to answer for. Fifty odd per cent don’t leave with five GCSEs, A-C. Not eight or ten per cent. In my mind we’re half crap at education.”

Speaking about his row with education secretary Michael Gove over academies being allowed to ignore nutritional standards, he said: “I always thought he was very charismatic, it’s just I don’t like him touching our standards. The parents asked us to put them there and there was no logical reason for them to go away; it was a base level that protected our kids. They’ve essentially been put back in slightly different wording. In some respects I’m happy that we’re back where we were two years ago, but also upset we’ve missed two years.”

Oliver also revealed he prefers to employ women in his businesses. In an interview with The Times, he said: “I just don’t trust men as much. All of our businesses are about things that need to be looked at with a longer view - it seems to be women are better at that. I’ve never tried to shape it in that particular way. If anything it looks like I’m an old pervert; that’s really not intentional.”

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